Abs
 

Hi guys,

Can anyone recommend an abs exercise that is actually fun to do? I have been doing crunches, but I really hate them, and as often as not, I skip them altogether. Part of me is constantly saying, 'well, your lower back is getting nice and strong, to **** with your abs!' but I recognize that this is a stupid way to think about it.

Recommendations? Ideally, I think I'd prefer something that can be done in 3x12 rather than 3x40 or 50... Is that just wishful thinking?

I tried to come up with a list of "fun" ab exercises but couldn't really think of any. I hate doing abs but without training these vital stabilizers, you will limit the amounts that you can lift and certainly lift safely in many of your major compound exercises.

These aren't fun, but here are some of the exercises I do:

planks
side planks
Ab wheel rollouts
cable crunches
cable woodchops
reverse crunches
russian twists
vertical knee raises

I hold the planks for time and I the rest I do for reps. I work core twice per week. I will do the planks and side planks each time and then I choose three of the other exercises (one of which is always either woodchops or russian twists to give me one rotational exercise). I do 3 tri-sets of 10 reps but you can use a straight 3x10 or other set/rep scheme.

Ab work ideas
 

Depalma posted a great list of exercises. Ab wheel and/or barbell rollouts are also fun to try. Or, do crunches and their variations on a Swiss Ball for variety.

Regardless of the exercise, you can work your abs like any other muscle, i.e., with weight or resistance. Find a weight at which you can do 8-12-ish reps with good form, and do your 3 sets. E.g., on ab crunches, stick a plate on your chest (easier), behind your head (harder), or in your hands with arms extended partially behind you (harder still).

I find I get much better results by adding resistance and treating abs like any other muscle than by doing umpteen-gazillion crunches, and I don't get nearly as bored.

I work abs twice a week, usually at the end of my workout so they aren't the weak link in the compound movements (e.g., squats, deadlifts, bench press, pullups, dips, etc).

kim

PS. Unless you're a genetic outlier and/or on Winstrol, you won't get huge, ripped abs like a bodybuilder's from doing weighted ab work. Not that there's anything wrong with huge, ripped abs...

The only ones I actually like are woodchops (which I usually do with the cable, high to low though you can do low to high) and what I think Depalma was calling vertical leg raises. I cannot do very many of the latter, though, because I have back problems.

In fact, because of my back I simply cannot do crunches unless I use the ab machine at the gym, and with that sucker I have to be very careful I'm using my abs & nothing else (though it is good for adding resistance). But the two I mentioned liking I don't have much of a problem with.

My gym also has a contraption that's almost like the cage for doing the leg raises but it has a bar on it you stand on--it's almost like a swing. Takes a lot of the pressure off my back, but I still don't have the hang of it yet--it's also a lot harder than it looks if you have the machine adjusted right. I have no idea what it's called, though.

More regimented things like yoga & pilates can also be good for your core muscles. I do like yoga for ab work--the planks & side planks Depalma mentioned are asanas. Another one I do is the bridge. I like it well enough. (Actually the Yoga Basics page is a really good resource.)

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into those.

I've thought about taking up pilates or something but given my dislike of abs exercises, it seems like an unnecessary form of torture :) I might revisit the idea in the Fall.

Kaw, fear not, I have no intention of having a ripped 6-pack. I just want my abs to be strong enough to match the rest of my body and to hold me up while I do everything else.

the oxygen ab edition has some fun exercises. my favorite is the one where you start in plank position on a swiss ball, shoelaces on the ball, do a pushup and then go up into a pike.

Ebe, is that a new edition of Oxygen, or an old one?

I believe I bought it off the newstand about 2 weeks ago. I actually saw it just the other day as well at the grocery store too, so as far as I know it's current'ish

I'll have to keep an eye out for that, then. Abs are my weakest point.

The Oxygen Ab magazine is totally Abs, though each issue has some ab workouts.

This month's issue, September 2007 (just don't see how that works - today is July 16th) has some ab workouts, including the side plank (p. 80) and some training starting on page 82.

My favorite workout right now is the ball from overhead, caught by my knees and lowering the legs while lying down of course. I tend to workout my abs at home while watching TV.